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I will soon be 79 years old and the only thing I have ever recycled is newspapers.

I recently signed up for the pickup and I am amazed at the things we can recycle, especially the plastic items. The list is endless. Just look for the triangle, usually on the bottom, and check the numbers.

I think of all the things I have put in the trash that could have been turned into something useful. So hopefully, some of the readers will give it a try. The cost is minimal when you think of saving our planet one by one.

Marie Smith, St. Petersburg

Poll proves education in county is top-notch

The results of the Times survey indicating that a high percentage of Tampa Bay parents are satisfied with our schools and teachers support the confidence my husband and I had in the Pinellas County education system during the years our children and grandchildren attended K-12 classes in St. Petersburg's public schools.

On those frequent occasions when we have come in contact with current students, it has been obvious to us that the same type of excellent instruction we were familiar with in the past is still being offered freely to all who enroll in today's public system, and we know from personal experience those who wisely take advantage of it will find themselves well prepared to earn a college degree and/or become successful in their chosen career.

In an effort to keep up with the events affecting our country today, we have become painfully aware that the constant shrinkage of operating funds and the consistent lack of effective legislative support for public education places the members of our school personnel in the position of having to continually face overwhelming challenges daily in order to provide the high standards of learning they make every effort to meet.

On behalf of those countless students who have received the benefits of a first-class education, I want to thank you for administering this poll and publishing the positive results, which acknowledge the fact that our public school system does indeed have merit and that those involved in teaching deserve to be recognized for their contribution to helping prepare our local youth for their place of leadership in their future endeavors.

Dorothy M. Thrush, St. Petersburg

Times' neglect of race inspires another goal

I am quite frustrated that the Times did not cover the Women's Half Marathon for Leukemia and Lymphoma in St. Petersburg. There were over 7,000 participants from all over the nation and yet not one article was published in Monday's paper (Nov. 22).

If you had been there you would have witnessed a great finish by great athletes and discovered stories worth publishing as women of all ages, shapes and sizes with individual stories participated.

I guess stories about scandalous politicians and NFL players with DUI charges are more newsworthy.

As an avid reader of your paper and a finisher of my first half marathon, three years post chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, I find myself wondering if perhaps reading your newspaper, filled with more negative stories than positive, should be replaced with going for my morning run in hopes of finishing the 2011 New York Marathon to bring awareness for ovarian cancer. Yes, that's what I will do.

Kimberly Waldrep, Safety Harbor

Groups exhibit a lack of fairness and respect

In recent days, I have read the paper with some caution and disdain. I have been an avid reader of the Times since 1985, and I generally like what I read.

I read the article about the neighborhood associations and their argument with each other. I asked myself a very important question, or at least it was to me: Why did this make the paper, and why did it end up on the desk of the mayor? Doesn't he have more important things to deal with?

I am a member of the St. Petersburg Religious Society of Friends-Quakers, a faith that allows and welcomes all. One of the factors of the dispute had to do with whether the Uhurus were going to have a booth at Circus McGurkis. One of the monikers used for this beautiful and affirming day is the People's Fair. That means all people. As Quakers, we believe in the equality of all, not some.

To me, booths are like the remote controls that control the television, if you don't wish to listen, hit the mute button. There were a few booths that did not agree with me, and you know what? I walked on by. Those people at those booths had as much right to be there as I did to walk on by.

All are a child of God, it does not matter to me what that God is. Everyone should be treated with love and respect, something I saw lacking in the treatment amongst the neighborhood associations.